The CRTC has reached a decision on what will replace OMNI. And it’s OMNI.
In a decision released Thursday, accompanied by a press release, the commission found that “Rogers’ proposed service, along with its associated commitments, best meets the needs and interests of Canada’s diverse population and the criteria established by the Commission, and is the most likely to ensure an exceptional contribution to the fulfillment of the objectives of the (Broadcasting) Act.”
The commission will therefore renew OMNI’s licence, but with “no expectation of renewal” beyond that, and only for three years, until 2023, when the mandatory distribution status of OMNI and other services with that status like CPAC, APTN and AMI, will be reviewed at the same time.
In its application, Rogers proposed that the new OMNI would have half-hour daily national newscasts in six languages: Spanish, Tagalog, Arabic, Punjabi, Mandarin and Cantonese, and local newscasts (for Toronto, Alberta and Vancouver) in Punjabi and Mandarin. Rogers told me it also planned to replace the current national Italian newscast, produced out of Montreal, with regional ones in Montreal and Toronto. The licence doesn’t specify the languages of programming, leaving that decision up to Rogers.
OMNI, which has TV stations in Toronto (two), Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, is broken up into four regions: B.C., Prairies, East (Ontario and Atlantic Canada) and Quebec. The Quebec feed is administered by ICI (CFHD-DT), an independent ethnic TV station in Montreal that was born out of Rogers’ conversion of CJNT into City Montreal. Though Rogers doesn’t directly control ICI, the two are closely connected.
Most of the other applicants didn’t propose regional feeds, over-the-air transmitters or local programming.
The commission has set the mandatory wholesale fee for the new OMNI, which begins Sept. 1, 2020, at $0.19 per month, up from its current $0.12 per month (but still less than some other applicants had proposed.) Rogers had requested a rate that started at $0.19 but ramped up to $0.21, but the CRTC found that $0.19 was sufficient. The decision states that the choice of OMNI was in part because of the proposed wholesale rate and the “balance” of that versus the programming commitments made.
OMNI’s commitments will be higher than they currently are, and higher than originally proposed as well:
- Canadian programming expenditures: 60% of gross revenues (up from 50% originally proposed and 40% currently)
- Canadian content on the schedule: 70% of the broadcast day (6am to midnight) and 70% from 6pm to midnight (up from 55% currently)
- Programs of National Interest (scripted drama/comedy, documentary, award shows): 5% of revenues (up from 2.5% currently), all of which must go to independent production companies
- Independent productions: 12 hours a week on each of the B.C., Prairies and Eastern feeds (including 2 hours produced from each of Manitoba/Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada), and 14 hours a week of local original independent productions on ICI.
- 100% ethnic programming (up from 80% proposed and currently) on the Rogers-controlled feeds, and 90% on ICI.
- 80% third-language programming (up from 50% proposed and currently) on the Rogers feeds, and 60% on ICI.
- Programming for 20 different ethnic groups and 20 different languages a month (same as currently; 18 and 15 respectively on ICI), with a limit of 16% for any one foreign language.
- Six hours a week of original local newscasts in Vancouver, Calgary/Edmonton and Toronto (an improvement off local current affairs show obligations).
- Six daily first-run national half-hour newscasts, seven days a week, in six different languages (up from four languages currently).
- At least 40% of gross revenues spent on news.
- Provide for ICI: 3 hours of original, local, ethnic programming in French each week and 1.5 hours of original, local, French-language programming and 30 minutes of local original English-language programming each week.
The licence also requires Rogers to:
- Limit U.S. programming to 10% of the schedule each month
- Maintain advisory councils for each regional feed, and require they approve the programming schedules and independent producers
- Spend $60,000 a year on “scholarship initiatives that support ethnic and third-language post-secondary students majoring in journalism,” as chosen by the advisory councils
- Maintain operation of the five over-the-air OMNI stations throughout the licence period
- Solicit local advertising only in markets where OMNI over-the-air stations operate
- Derive no profit from OMNI, and reinvest any surplus back into OMNI
Rogers will have until Sept. 1, 2020, to put those increased commitments into place. Until then, the existing licence still applies.
Shockingly, the CRTC’s decision includes absolutely zero analysis of the seven other applications to replace OMNI with a different service. It merely states that it had to choose one and OMNI was the best one. Did the commission feel the Ethnic Channels Group’s idea of multiple audio feeds in different languages was feasible? Was it impressed by the ambitious goals set by Amber Broadcasting? Did it think the application from Montreal-based non-profit ICTV was realistic? We have no idea. The other applicants are only mentioned once, in a listing of the applications at the beginning of the decision.
With the increase in the wholesale rate, here’s how much of your monthly TV bill will go to mandatory services, starting in September 2020:
English-language markets:
- APTN: $0.35
- AMI-audio: $0.04
- AMI-tv: $0.20
- CPAC: $0.13
- OMNI Regional: $0.19
- RDI: $0.10
- TV5/Unis: $0.24
- The Weather Network/MétéoMédia: $0.22
- Vues et Voix (formerly Canal M): $0.04
- TOTAL: $1.51
French-language markets:
- APTN: $0.35
- AMI-audio: $0.04
- AMI-télé: $0.28
- CPAC: $0.13
- CBC News Network: $0.15
- OMNI Regional: $0.19
- TV5/Unis: $0.28
- The Weather Network/MétéoMédia: $0.22
- Vues et Voix (formerly Canal M): $0.04
- TOTAL: $1.68
Meanwhile, the CRTC has administratively renewed the licence for ICI until 2020, which will simplify things as far as new conditions of licence related to its agreement with OMNI.
UPDATE: Rogers has issued a statement saying it is happy with the decision and will announce more specific plans “in the coming months.”
The decision seems to be much more of “kick the can down the road a bit”. It seems much more likely to be addressed at the point where they start to look at all of these mandatory services.
It’s also not a surprising decision. The CRTC likes big companies, they like concentration, they like incumbents, and they like situations where the equipment and such is already paid for – all of these things give a set of solid no surprises for the next three years.
For what it’s worth, remember also that about half of the CRTC board members right now will have reached the end of their term or be about to end their term around the time of the next decision, including Chairperson Ian Scott (he’s done in September 2022). So at that point, the commission can once again kick the can a little further down the road and delay that review for when a new commissioner is in, so possibly another 3 year extension at that point.
“The licence also requires Rogers to…Derive no profit from OMNI, and reinvest any surplus back into OMNI”
So why is Rogers bothering to run it? Rogers certainly isn’t a charity.
Running OMNI ties up capital that could be used to generate profit for Rogers so I don’t understand their incentive. I think I might be missing something.
A few reasons. For one, continuing to run OMNI means it won’t have to lay off a bunch of workers and pay severance. It also provides potential indirect benefits, like an outlet for Rogers ads.